IQ Qualifications Funding Update

IQ Qualifications Funding Update

Industry Qualifications is pleased to advise that we have been successful in obtaining the continued public funding for the following qualifications outside of apprenticeship frameworks for 2015/16 (NB Qualifications which are part of an apprenticeship framework remain unaffected).

Our sincere thanks go to our employer, centres and trade association contacts for taking the time to provide the associated letters of support to continue the life of these much needed qualifications.

Background

Each year, the Skills Funding Agency (SFA) looks at qualifications that have been approved for two or more years and will only continue funding qualifications that have a track record of demand and that support progression to relevant, meaningful outcomes for the learner.

Where a qualification is not automatically approved, all Awarding Organisations are required to prove that the qualification is relevant to the needs of employers and learners. With this in mind the SFA developed a set of business rules to adhere to, ensuring that only qualifications which add clear value to employers and currency for learners are funded.

The business rules require that qualifications:

are of a sufficient size (ie credit value)to deliver meaningful learning to demonstrate the attainment of skills, knowledge and understanding

have a public-facing purpose statement that clearly describes the outcomes the qualification supports

In addition to this, where qualifications with less than 100 registered learners in the previous two years are identified, it is also a requirement to obtain evidence in writing of a commitment to more than 100 expected learners.